Agenda item - RECOMMENDATIONS FROM WEYBRIDGE PARKING REVIEW (EXECUTIVE FUNCTION)

This report asks the Local Committee to agree the proposals from the Weybridge parking review, funding for parking infrastructure and the recommendations arising from the new legislation surrounding school keep clear markings.

The Local Committee resolved to:

(i) Delegate to the Parking Project Team Leader in consultation with the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, the Divisional Member and the Ward Councillors to consider the feedback received to the proposals in Annex 1 and decide which proposals should be formally advertised, with or without changes, and subject to statutory consultation.

(ii) If objections are received the Parking Strategy and Implementation Team Manager is authorised to try to resolve them;

(iii) If any objections cannot be resolved, the Parking Strategy and Implementation Team Manager, in consultation with the Chairman/Vice Chairman of this committee and the county councillor for the division, decides whether or not they should be acceded to and therefore whether the order should be made, with or without modifications.

(iv) To fund additional maintenance of parking signs and lines from the surplus held within the on street parking account.

(v) To fund the replacement of existing on street parking pay and display machines from the surplus held within the on street parking account. This cost is expected to be in the region of £35,000.

(vi) To introduce the new process for implementation of new school keep clear markings (SKCs), and to agree to revoke the traffic regulation orders for existing SKCs across Elmbridge, in light of changes in government legislation.

Reason for decision: to enable the feedback from the public to the proposals to be considered whilst avoiding delaying the Parking review programme.

Adrian Harris, the Parking Engineer, introduced the report explaining that Weybridge was the second area to be covered as part of the Parking Strategy. 303 responses had been received to the consultation which lasted from 18 December 2015 to 17 January 2016. A further specific consultation in area F targeted residents on the idea of extending and changing the permit parking in the roads north of the High St. Site visits were carried out in May.

Members’ comments included:

· One of the objectives of the review was to increase parking, which we don’t seem to be doing

· The review had not been publicised sufficiently

· The proposals have not been put on the website

The officer replied that some of the proposals were increasing parking by changing residents’ parking to dual use. He also gave details of the groups and organisations which had been contacted as part of the survey.

The Chairman allowed Mike O’Sullivan who had submitted a question related to the report to ask a supplementary question. He requested the Local Committee to support the EBC Portfolio holder in the leverage of a long stay parking facility in Weybridge? The Chairman said this was a borough matter.

Members’ further comments included:

· Concern that minor changes can be made after the proposals have been agreed

· Further consultation is required as residents don’t want to wait a further 3 years for the next Weybridge review

· Parking is a very personal difficult issue, but we must avoid displacement

· Concern about who will receive the residents’ permits

· More off-street parking is definitely needed and it is difficult to look at one without the other

· Many businesses are unhappy

· No positive comments received from the public in relation to these proposals.

Surrey County Councillor, Ernest Mallett, left the meeting.

Nick Healey explained that no formal consultation had yet taken place, but if the recommendations are agreed then the proposals will be formally advertised and the feedback can be considered. If we don’t agree any of the proposals then none of the changes will be implemented.

Further Members’ comments included:

· The existing CPZ must be justifiable

· The process must be transparent and comprehensive

· The proposals need to be displayed easily accessible to the public

The Chairman proposed to adjourn the meeting, which the Vice Chairman seconded.

The meeting reconvened and an amendment to recommendation (i) was proposed by the Chairman and seconded by the Vice Chairman.

The Chairman explained all the feedback received from residents should be sent through and a private meeting including the Weybridge Ward Councillors would take place towards the end of July when the parking issues would be discussed.

Members voted on the amended recommendation, 6 for, 2 against and 6 abstained.

In response to further questions Officers said that double yellow lines were only being proposed at essential places, that when the proposals were advertised they would be displayed in the library and online and if any major changes to the agreed proposals were requested then they would need to come back to the committee for agreement.